The construction of new ambulance stations in Humboldt and Moran took another step forward Tuesday morning when Allen County commissioners met with Fort Scott-based project architect Rick Zingre.
In April, the commission voted to accept a bid from Zingre & Associates for the preliminary designs for both ambulance buildings. In the many long months since that day, Zingres services have been on ice while the county conducted its search for suitable locations in each of the two Allen County towns.
Earlier this month, however, Humboldt City Administrator Cole Herder announced that, thanks to the beneficence of First Christian Church, the county would be able to plant its ambulance barn on a double-lot in the 800 block of Osage Street. Commissioners have also keyed in on a spot in Moran most likely the area just west of Midpoint Baptist Church on the south side of Highway 54, courtesy of a donation by Moran resident Mike Stodgell but the final details are still being nailed down.
Zingre explained his role in the project. Typically, the architect provides full services to public entities, which would be to design the buildings, produce the construction documents for the building, help you put it up for bid, and then do the construction administration during construction of the building.
But before drawing up the proposal, Zingre wanted to reacquaint himself with the countys expectations and wanted, too, to offer a few suggestions.
I was given a plan for a two-bay station that had a couple of bedrooms and a day room, said Zingre. A 2,400-square-foot building roughly.
The architect made three recommendations that he claimed would make the endeavor smoother on his end and more cost-effective for the county: First, he encouraged commissioners to use identical designs for the construction of the Humboldt and Moran stations. Next, he advised them to opt for one general contractor to oversee both projects, as opposed to hiring one contractor for Humboldt and another for Moran. Finally, Zingre had a word for the commissioners regarding building materials: choose wood over metal.
You can still surround the building with metal siding, said Zingre, but it would probably be less expensive, given the size, to do it out of wood. Its only about 2,400-square-feet. Typically, youve got to be up around 4,000- to 5,000-square-feet to make [pre-engineered] metal pay out. … If you want to go with metal, youre going to pay about $10,000 more to get that done per building. For the size of it, I dont know that its really worth it to do that.
Assuming the buildings are identical, and assuming hes responsible for the administration of only one contracting entity, Zingre told commissioners that Humboldt and Moran can expect to see their ambulance barns go up by summer: You probably ought to allow six weeks for the planning process, to get the drawings ready to go out for bid. And then maybe a month for the bidding process. … And then give yourselves a couple of weeks to decide who youre going to award it to. So, if youre looking at wanting to start construction by early-summer, [now] seems like a good time to get started.
To tell you the truth, said commission chair Jerry Daniels, regarding our timeline, we were really hoping to have one done by now. But, because of searching for locations, its taken a lot longer. Daniels says he envisions perhaps building the station in Humboldt first where the location details have been finalized and, upon achieving completion there, immediately beginning construction in Moran.
The next move, though, is Zingres. Hell write up a proposal, then send it to County Counselor Bob Johnson, who will then relay it to the commissioners. Once the commission approves the proposal, the process begins.
IN RELATED news, commissioners on Tuesday approved the purchase of a 2019 AEV Traumahawk F550 Ambulance ($214,986), which will include a new power cot ($17,610) and a new LIFEPAK 15 cardiac monitor ($31,820), for a grand total of $264,416. The winning bid was submitted by Columbia, Mo.-based American Response Vehicles, which requires a build time of 120 to 180 days.
FINALLY, the commission voted to renew Humboldts Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. The interlocal agreement is designed to encourage housing and building improvements in Humboldt by providing tax refunds to any property owner who makes at least $3,000 worth of improvements to residential housing or at least $5,000 in improvements to commercial or industrial buildings. In place for more than a decade now, the program, said Herder, continues to produce results. I talked to a guy on Friday who is looking to put in a housing development, said the administrator. He said I like Humboldt your neighborhood revitalization is better than the one in Chanute. Hes looking at both Chanute and Humboldt for building… I dont want to get into the details but this guy is talking about a million-dollar investment in housing. The revitalization program will be up for renewal again in three years.
